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With boys’ basketball road victories over Wiggins and Burlington, the Dragons pushed their record to 4-4, winning four of their last five matches.

Holyoke 72, Wiggins 64

Tuesday, Jan. 8, the Dragons hit the road to face the Wiggins Tigers. Although the Tigers are a conference foe, the game was not counted towards either team’s conference record.

Holyoke found themselves down early as Wiggins poured in 22 points in the first period to take a six-point lead. The Tigers continued to add to their lead, entering half up 38-29. Logan Tharp scored 16 points in the first half to help keep the Dragons within striking distance.

Coach Scott Dille praised the character of those on the team as they came out in the second half determined to do a better job. “I just really think the kids came together and challenged each other to get the job done, and they did,” Dille said.

Dille also commended Trevor Dalton (who is currently sitting out due to a knee injury suffered during the football season) for his leadership, noting that the junior was able to fire the team up during halftime.

Tito Fierro led the comeback in the second half, scoring 10 points in the third quarter as the Dragons chipped away at the deficit, ending the third period down 57-50. Tharp continued to be a consistent scoring threat for the Dragons as he added nine points in the quarter.

Once HHS grabbed the lead they never let go, thanks in part to 12-of-14 shooting at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. The defense held Wiggins to just seven points in the final eight minutes while the Dragons put up 22 points in the quarter to grab a 72-64 comeback victory.

Tharp had a big night as he finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists. Fierro was also efficient, scoring 23 points along with four steals.

Holyoke 58, Burlington 55

The Dragons once again found themselves down early when they squared off with the Burlington Cougars Saturday, Jan. 12.

Coach Dille believes the lackluster first quarters in the past week may be partially attributed to trying to get back into the swing of things following the holiday break. “I think just coming back from Christmas break and getting back into the flow of school and practice and everything was a factor for Saturday’s start,” Dille said.

After falling down by as much as 17 points and heading into the locker room down 34-23, the Dragons were forced to stage another second-half comeback to top the Cougars. Deyten Klein’s sharpshooting helped lift HHS to a 58-55 victory as he connected on five shots from beyond the arc. Klein was also nine for 10 on free throws.

Similar to Tuesday’s game, the Dragons had another huge fourth quarter, scoring 20 points and limiting the Burlington squad to just 13 points in the final quarter.

Klein led the pack with 26 points while Fierro chipped in with 11 points and three steals.

The back-to-back wins improve the boys’ record to 4-4 with conference play just around the corner.

Upcoming action

Holyoke will stay busy in the upcoming week as they will head to Merino Friday, Jan. 18, before returning to Dragon Gym to host Wray Saturday, Jan. 19 and Yuma Tuesday, Jan. 22.